Fate
by ochita127
Summary: "Can you do me a favor?" Natsuki asked after a long silence. "Sure what is it?" "Can you kiss me?" Shiznat AU OOC
1. Chapter 1

She was 10 years old when she met her so called soul mate. Her father invited over some friends from the military for dinner. He and four of his comrades came home one night after a very long absence and were warmly welcomed by her mother as she sat on the top of the stairs watching them come in and greet her. There she spotted one young woman with long dark blue hair and deep green eyes and was instantly captivated by this young woman that she instantly admired from afar.

Akito Viola was a leader of the special ops division that consisted of only a handful of men and women. They do special missions for the government which usually consists of infiltrating facilities to hunting down specific persons. Of course no one knows about this outside the group. For other people they were just normal military men and women serving the country.

They settled themselves in the dining room around the spacious table where the food was already set and steaming. They were currently sharing some jokes here and there about the people in the base and shared a good laugh as well.

"Let's save the laughter for later, we don't want the food waiting," Akito said looking left and right gesturing that they dig in. He then looked over his wife who was busy with the drinks in the kitchen. "Honey, let's eat, and where's Shizuru?"

"She's upstairs, I'll go get her," she then placed two pitchers of iced tea over the table before excusing herself to get their daughter.

"You've got a lovely wife there, Akito, she's really a dear, but of course my Miko is the same," a man with dark brown hair shaved up to fit military standards commented and raised his glass to him as a point. His name was Kaito Armitage, Akito's second in command. But they were more like brothers than comrades and neither of them acts like one is superior to the other. Though a little rivalry is never gone with these two.

"Thanks," Akito smiled in appreciation and raised his glass to him. Everybody then raised their glass and took a drink to that. And on cue his wife entered the kitchen with a little girl in tow who had her mother's light brown curls and her father's bright red eyes. He stood up and introduced them properly with his comrades. "This is my wife, Kiyo, and my daughter Shizuru and these are my comrades."

"You already know Kaito," and the man nodded in their direction.

"This is Hirohito Kisune," the man who looked around his late twenties with black hair and black eyes raised his hand up in recognition.

"She is Asuka Nirvana," The woman in about her thirties with short orange hair and dark blue eyes smiled at them and waived at Shizuru who cowered behind her mother. "And last but not the least, the newest and youngest member of our group, Natsuki Kruger," the young woman smiled at them and Shizuru couldn't help but give a small smile back.

After the introductions they settled themselves and ate a hearty dinner which was delicious not to anybody's surprise.

…

It was a month after that when Shizuru saw Natsuki again. The place where Natsuki stayed at was being demolished as the apartment building was sold to someone who wanted it to be a high rise condominium and forced her to move out. Akito took her in since she had no more family to go to until she could find another place.

"Thank you for having me," She bowed down in front of them. "Sorry for the trouble."

"It's alright dear," Kiyo told her. "We're glad to have you. Shizuru here even likes you."

"Hey there kiddo," Natsuki kneeled down to Shizuru's height to smile at her. Shizuru meekly smiled back at her.

Shizuru was a shy child considering that she's living a sheltered life. They lived in a peaceful neighborhood far away from the chaos. They had a sizable two-storey home with a perfectly good backyard where she plays most of the time. She has few friends from school, whom sometimes visits her especially when her uncle Kaito comes and he usually brings along with his daughter Haruka and another friend of theirs, Yukino.

Natsuki had become her friend instantly and they played a lot during the time that she lived with them. Due to work she was mostly off during the week but was there during the weekends. And everytime she would help out in the house or playing with Shizuru. During her stay, Shizuru continued to admire the young woman and even developed a school girl crush with her. Of course this was known by her parents and they just played along, thinking that it was just plain admiration.

"How old are you Natsuki?" Shizuru asked the young woman one day when they were out in the backyard lounging under a tree. Natsuki made some sandwiches for them and they went out for a makeshift picnic in the backyard. Her parents were out today and they asked Natsuki to look after her for the whole day. Of course Natsuki was too happy to help since she knew that Akito hardly had time for his wife these past few weeks. Natsuki urged her superior to take his wife out and eventually convinced him to do so. So here she was with Shizuru waiting for her answer.

"Eighteen," was her curt answer but was soon followed by a question. "Why'd you ask?"

Shizuru counted with her hands not answering Natsuki's question right away. She held up both hands after counting to let Natsuki see."Seven, you're seven years older than me."

"You're good at math, I'll tell you that," Natsuki bemused using one hand to gently push the girls' hands down acknowledging the fact. "What's with our age?"

"I want to marry Natsuki!" The declamation caught her by surprise. "And my teacher said that age doesn't matter."

"Hey, ain't you a little bit young to be saying that?" Natsuki asked the young girl. "Where's all this coming from?"

"Well my teacher told us that we were getting a new teacher starting next week since she's going to get married, and we saw her with her fi-, uhm, fiance-"

"Fiancé."

"Yes, and we all thought that he was waaaay older than she is," Shizuru continued. "But she said when you're in love, there are no boundaries, there's just love."

"Tell you what," Natsuki spoke up after a while, smiling at Shizuru, clearly amused with the young girl. Shizuru looked at her with curious eyes waiting for her to continue on. "When you get older, you ask that question again and I'll answer you."

"Is that a promise?" Shizuru asked.

"That's a promise," Natsuki held out her pinky in front of Shizuru. The young girl beamed at her and held out her pinky as well and wrapped it around the young woman's pinky sealing the promise.

…

Ten years has passed since then and now Shizuru, now twenty-one, was the eye of most men and even a few women. Suitors approached her left and right and she politely declined them all. Over the years she still pined for the same person whom she grew really close with over the years. Natsuki Kruger was now known among the military and rose up in ranks due to her service. The woman still served under her father but she heard that she was a shared resource by other departments as well.

After almost a year of temporarily living with them, the woman got a house of her own just beside theirs and moved out. But still, she constantly paid them a visit whenever she's around especially Shizuru whom she grew fond of. She was basically like family; the Viola's certainly treated her as one.

Since the promise made over ten years ago, Shizuru's infatuation with the recently promoted major never ceased. Though she rarely voices it out, actions clearly speak louder than words as she never fails to treat the other woman in a special way. Her emotions showed that she really pined for the other woman. It shows especially thru her eyes. Even her parents noticed it and if at first they thought that it was just a phase, now it bothered them that it was really true after all.

Natsuki was a different story though. She treated Shizuru like a younger sister more than anything. She knew of the other girl's affection towards her but it did not stop her from being close to her and not treating her differently. She maybe a bit over protective of her but was constantly there to aid her in times of trouble. Lately, the same couldn't be said the same for her. Ever since Shizuru hit puberty she couldn't help but linger a few more seconds when she looked at the beauty who was once the cute girl she babysat. And the accent that the now young woman developed being an exchange student for two months in Cardair, a neighboring state of theirs, made her more alluring. Something was changing in her and one way or another it involved Shizuru.

"Ara, Natsuki, what brings you here," Shizuru asked surprised to see the woman standing by her car still wearing her uniform and outside her school. "Has Natsuki finally realized her feelings for me and is now trying to court me?"

"A-ah," Natsuki was caught off guard and a blush formed on her face. Teasing was also one of the uncanny habits that Shizuru developed over at Cardair. She pretended to cough to hide her embarrassment before speaking up. "Uncle Ito asked me to fetch you, he said that we're eating out tonight."

"Have you any clue why," Shizuru asked eyeing the woman. It was not every day that she saw Natsuki in her military uniform. Even at the age of 28 the woman still looked young and hot.

"No," Natsuki shook her head. "But come on let's go and find out why."

They boarded up Natsuki's car and left for the restaurant.

Later that night they found out that Akito has just gotten promoted to General. Now, he would have more time with his family rather than the field as the promotion involved more desk work than field work. He was really happy with the news as nowadays with the war coming to a resolve for peace he can finally spend more time with his wife and daughter whom he rarely spent time with. They had a wonderful dinner that night and they went home with smiles. This news couldn't be better.

…

"Ne, Natsuki," Shizuru spoke up catching the attention of Natsuki. They were currently in Shizuru's backyard once more like ten years ago except there was no picnic. They were just sitting there relaxing underneath the tree. "Do you remember the promise we made here ten years ago?"

"Yeah," Natsuki answered looking up to the sky. She never thought that the woman beside her was serious about that all along. Back then she thought about it and would just flat out decline the proposition but things changed, more so recently. If Shizuru brought this up maybe a few years ago then she would flat out decline the woman and have her find someone new, someone better, someone her age, and who is a man. But over the course of their friendship and the constant care of Shizuru, she fell for the beauty beside her. She didn't know when. Maybe it started a few years ago, when Shizuru turned eighteen, when first she noticed her as a woman and not that little girl she used to play with. And now, she was aware that she really had feelings for the woman beside her.

Shizuru could only look as Natsuki was deep in thought. A dozen of thoughts came to her mind as to what the woman was thinking.

"Can you do me a favor?" Natsuki asked after a long silence.

"Sure what is it?"

"Can you kiss me?"

Shizuru stopped at the question. Clearly surprised at the unexpected favor, but of course she would not let the opportunity pass and she nodded in acceptance. "Alright."

Natsuki then faced her and both took a deep breath before leaning towards each other. Natsuki then raised her hand to cup Shizuru's cheek and guide her towards her. They took it slow looking in each other's eyes and each can clearly see the emotion that was held in them. Their eyelids fluttered close an inch before their lips met. The first thought that came to Shizuru's mind was that Natsuki's lips felt so soft. They parted after a few seconds the feeling still lingering in their lips. The hand on Shizuru's cheek left and her cheek never felt so cold. They stared at each other for a few seconds before sitting back properly as earlier.

"I love you," the declaration came from Shizuru. "I always have."

"I know," was the only answer that came from Natsuki. "Thank you, Shizuru."

"Why?"

"For loving me," She answered. "I'm not going to lie and tell you that I don't feel the same, because I do."

Shizuru looked hopeful at those words but something told her that she wasn't finished yet.

"But you're still too young, you've still got a whole life ahead of you," she continued. "Now you're saying that, but maybe your feelings would still change."

"I've waited for this for years!" Shizuru started to exclaim. "I'm sure about what I feel."

"Then if you really are, I'm sure a few more months of waiting won't change your mind," Natsuki smiled at her and Shizuru could only sit in silence and accept defeat.

They spent the rest of the afternoon talking enjoying each other's company until they were called by Kiyo to come in for dinner.

…

Shizuru didn't see or hear from Natsuki after that day. Her father told her that Natsuki was called to base and had to go immediately since it was urgent. When Shizuru asked why, her father couldn't give an answer. Apparently it was another department who employed the services of Natsuki and the mission file was classified. The only thing they knew is that she was sent to Artai. And that did not sound good to any of them. For days she waited any news about Natsuki and she heard none. Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. Still, Shizuru received no news. The once lively ruby eyes dulled over time as she anxiously waited for her dear soldier to return.

Shizuru felt that the days seemed longer now that Natsuki was away. Every day was a struggle and her life fell into monotony. Her parents and friends constantly worried about her despite the facade that she had learned to put up just so that she wouldn't look so weak and desperate as she was inside. But the facade could not even mask her despair when things took a turn for the worst.

"Shizuru," Akito Viola called upon his daughter one night. Shizuru was in her study going over some papers of the company she worked at. She had become an assistant manager of a nationwide carrier company in their land. This kept her busy everyday due to the shipments coming in and out of their country. There was no wonder why she chose this profession. The company was the only one that accepts and delivers packages and parcels from Artai. Looking up she greeted her father with a smile and ushered him to come in.

Akito took his steps cautiously and looked around his daughter's study. The place was neat save for the desk which was stacked with papers. He barely visited Shizuru during this time of hour and this was the first time he came to her home. Natsuki's home - he corrected. Shizuru took the liberty of occupying Natsuki's house a month after the soldier's absence. Before, she cleaned the place up every other day hoping for Natsuki's return. Now, after a year, she had transferred most of her stuff and started living in the place Natsuki bought just beside their own. It was the most logical thing she had thought that time, that when Natsuki gets back, her home wouldn't be abandoned and lonely.

Shizuru stood up and went to greet her father properly hugging him and kissing him on the cheek. "Hi, father, it's been a while. How are you?"

"I'm fine, how about you? You seem pretty busy lately," he answered keeping the topic light.

"Everything's alright," she said, mostly to herself, before adding. "Holidays are coming so packages have been piling up and Miss Maria's passing more work to me."

"Is that so," Akito replied casually. His mind obviously elsewhere.

"So," Shizuru started feeling that something was amiss with her father's behavior so she decided to ask. "What brings you here, father?"

Akito catching on Shizuru's perceptiveness decided not to dwindle about his objective. Though he knows this would definitely break his daughter's heart. He pulled out a folder from his satchel and handed it to Shizuru. The words 'Confidential' glaring with its red color.

"I just received this today in my office, and sneaked it out to let you know," his voice strained with a hint of sadness. Being a general, he's used to these kinds of scenarios, but this was more personal for him and his family and couldn't help but give away his emotion. But he stood ground for he knew once his daughter sees its contents; she would need someone to hold on to.

Shizuru felt pounding in her ears the moment she saw those letters glaring at her. Her breathing started to become a bit labored as mild anxiety started to creep up her whole body. Shaky hands received the folder and she stared at those bright red letters in front of her. Slowly she opened the file and was greeted with a mission report.

'December 15, 20XX

Mission Otome

Status: Completed.

Summary: Mission was completed in 370 days. Underground rebels have been infiltrated and terminated. Only 5 out of 6 soldiers returned with minor injuries. There was 1 casualty. Leader was reported to have been KIA during explosion. No bodies have been recovered due to mass mutilation of body parts.'

Shizuru frowned, brows knotting with mixed emotions. She flipped the page over to the next and dropped the folder at what she saw.

'November 5, 20XX

Mission Otome

Team Leader: Maj. Natsuki Kruger -'

"N-no," Shizuru stuttered shocked about what she saw. Tears immediately formed in her eyes and one by one the drops fell down until it became a river of tears. She stood like a statue with mouth hanging open eyes staring at nothing in particular.

Akito fell weak upon seeing the state of his daughter. He felt something wet on his cheeks and didn't notice that he, too, started shedding tears. With a resolve he took a step towards his daughter and enveloped her in a hug. Shizuru's silent tears ended up with her sobbing and wailing loudly as she reciprocated the hug.

"Natsukii-" Shizuru repeated her name over and over. Akito could only hug her in despair; he knows that words could not reach Shizuru right now as she wallowed in her own thoughts. They stayed like that for more than an hour before Shizuru finally fainted from exhaustion. Akito then carried her to their house and placed her in her old bed. He knew that letting her wake up in Natsuki's bedroom would not be ideal and they would also need to check up on her.

As Akito closed the door behind him, he was greeted by his wife's worried face. He gestured towards there room, silently telling her that he'd tell her about it there.

A week after the news they held a funeral. They bought a tomb and placed it in the Viola's small memorial sanctuary at the cemetery. A small ceremony was held in Natsuki's honor and friends, family and a few colleagues joined in to commemorate the late Major who was promoted to Colonel for the heroic deed.

The weather seemed to be contrasting everyone's emotions as the warm rays of the sun shone upon their black clothed figures. But Shizuru couldn't help to think that the weather suited the event perfectly, for Natsuki was a summer child, as she was told by the woman herself many years ago.

Eventually the sun started to set and their numbers grew little until it was only Akito, Kiyo and Shizuru herself that were left saying their last goodbyes to Natsuki. Tears still flowed from Shizuru's eyes like a never ending river. They stayed until evening before Akito finally decided that they should go home and rest. Shizuru didn't want to at first but her body was already exhausted so she conceded and followed after her parents.

Coping up with the loss was hard but Shizuru had managed. For months she shed tears whenever anything that reminded her of Natsuki was mentioned. Though she could not leave the last few things Natsuki owned and bought her house instead. Her family helped her through a lot and her friends frequently dragged her to places, events and parties to keep her mind of things. She was grateful for they never once left her alone. And now after eight months she was moving on. She did not shed anymore tears nor did she show that she was still devastated. She finally learned how to control herself.

She was proud of Natsuki. She learned later on that the mission that the soldier led was the turning point of the war. The small sacrifice that the woman made turned her into a hero and Shizuru felt proud on loving her. This was one of the reasons that made moving on easier. Though the soldier still holds a very special place in her heart that no one else can ever replace.

"Shizuru-san?" A woman knocked on the door to her office before entering. "I've brought the latest reports."

"Ara, thank you, Marguerite-han," Shizuru acknowledged and pointed to the stack of papers to her right without looking up. "Please place them here and you may go."

"Alright," the woman silently followed the order not wanting to disturb Shizuru. On her way out her steps slowed and eventually came to a stop just before the door. "A-ano, Shizuru-san."

"Yes?" Shizuru inquired pausing from her work to look up to the green-haired woman at the door. Her name was Tomoe Marguerite. She was an intern at their small company and is currently a roving secretary for everyone's needs. Ever since the war has ended the company planned to open up more branches nationwide and they needed more help at the main office since more work was needed to be done in order for them to do so.

"W-well, the others are wondering if you are free tonight..." The question was left hanging in the air as Tomoe blushed evidently. Shizuru knew of this young woman - no teen's, she corrected herself and was reminded that Tomoe was just seventeen, blatant infatuation with her and never ceased even at her show of disinterest. She had to hand it to her. The teal-haired woman was vigilant. "They have planned a party later and everyone's invited. And they asked me to ask you if you could come."

Shizuru would have flatly said no and made up an excuse to go along with it and spend her time at home, continuing her work. She had considered it but stopped herself from saying no. It may be good for her to unwind after all the hard work she had been doing and it would also be helpful to connect with her co-workers once in a while. But still she decided against it. "I'm sorry, but I'm busy tonight. Maybe next time."

The sadness in Tomoe's face wasn't missed by Shizuru. The intern was surely disappointed with her answer and sullenly left her office. Shizuru shook her head and went back to reading the paper in front of her. After a reading the same line for the third time she sighed. She kind of saw herself in Tomoe, pining for Natsuki all those years ago. She remembered Natsuki's gentle smile, her caring nature, those blushes she loved to elicit from the older woman and the kiss that they shared before Natsuki left. Her heart clenched at the memory that still hurt. She hasn't really accepted the soldier's death up 'till now. Her mind keeps telling her that the older woman was already dead and that she should move on but something in her heart tugs at her mind telling her that Natsuki was alive somewhere.

Looking back at the papers in front of her, she decided to tidy up and call it a day. As she was sorting out the papers, her sight caught a news article brandishing the words 'New Head Office of HiME Shipping opens up at Artai'. She picked up the news article and decided to read its contents. Their company is expanding its operations to Artai and they were hiring new employees to run the branch. She experienced a strong gut feeling about the place. So without wasting another second, she picked up her phone and dialed a number.

"Hello, its Shizuru, I was wondering where tonight's party was? Mhm. Alright, I'll be there."

Needless to say, two weeks after the party, Shizuru was finally relocated to Artai. She had been promoted as the Operations Manager over at the new head office. Her family and friends were reluctant to let her go but after a few words of persuasion she had convinced them that moving to a new place would help her move on. Also, she promised she would regularly visit whenever she can and they too had promised to visit her from time to time.

Six months into her new work she had already found new friends. Mai Tokiha, an owner of a local restaurant named Linden Baum, became her very first friend. Shizuru was initially looking for a good place to eat when she stumbled upon the restaurant. Finding the food great she frequented the place and made acquaintances with the owner. Mai, being all motherly-like found out that Shizuru was alone in the place and eventually became her friend. With Mai, she had been opened up to a circle of friends which consisted of Mikoto Minagi, and ever-so energetic woman who looked like a girl, Chie Hallard a charming woman who flirted with everywoman she met, and Aoi Senoh the shy and timid but possessive girlfriend of Chie.

She also found out that Mai had a brother who was sick with Leukemia, and constantly needed to be confined for therapy. Every month, he stayed for about a week at the hospital to undergo his treatment. He was diagnosed just over a year ago and only had two more sessions of chemotherapy before his treatment is finished. Then he would undergo some tests to see if his condition improved and to know the next step for his treatment.

Usually Mai would take care of Takumi during his stay at the hospital or his girlfriend, Akira Okuzaki. However on one weekend of his second to the last treatment, his girlfriend had to go on a trip to An Nam for their family business and Mai was at a food conference over at Zipang. Shizuru took it upon herself to be a kind friend and volunteered to look after Takumi for one night.

"How are you feeling Takumi-kun?" Shizuru asked making sure that Takumi was comfortable on his bed. He was about to rest for the night after his scheduled chemotherapy early this afternoon.

"I'm fine Shizuru-san," the teen answered through the mask over his mouth. He was on reverse isolation due to his immune system being depressed by the medication he was on. "Thank you for taking care of me."

"It's nothing," Shizuru smiled at the teen. "I wasn't doing anything over the weekend anyway."

Before their conversation could continue a knock on the door interrupted them followed by a dark haired man wearing a white coat entered the room. Seeing Shizuru, he introduced himself. "Oh, good evening. I'm Reito Kanzaki, Takumi-kun's oncologist."

Shizuru shook the hand held out to her and introduced herself was well. "Shizuru Viola."

"How are you feeling Takumi-kun?" Reito asked generally and Takumi responded. He then asked a few more specific questions which Takumi answered each one of them. He wrote down down his findings on a chart he brought with him and was relatively pleased with all of his answers. "You go on ahead and rest now. You need to gain your strength so you can go home as soon as possible."

After making sure Takumi was okay he turned back to Shizuru who was observing him all the while.

"I haven't seen you before, Viola-san," he kept up a conversation while checking the IV lines. He looked at her briefly and gave her a smile. Shizuru's heart skipped a beat as it reminded her of the smile Natsuki used to give her. A small blush formed its way to her cheeks but went unnoticed due to the make-up she was wearing. "How are you related to Takumi-kun?"

"His sister, Mai, is my friend," Shizuru supplied. "She asked me to take care of him as she and Akira-han couldn't accompany him this weekend."

"Is that so," he acknowledged briefly while writing down notes on the chart he was writing down in earlier. "Oh by the way, were you from Cardair perhaps?"

"Ara, why do you say so?" Shizuru questioned.

"Your accent. It's familiar," the doctor answered stopping what he was doing at the moment and looked at her. "I was born there."

"Really?" Shizuru felt intrigued. "How come you don't have the same accent?"

"We migrated here when I was six, so I grew up here," he answered getting back to his chart and writing some more notes down.

"Well, I'm not from Cardair," the tawny haired woman supplied. "I was born and raised at Windbloom. But I was an exchange student for Cardair once, and staying there for a while, it kind of stuck to me."

"And I'm pretty sure it stuck with you perfectly, it suits you," Reito complimented finishing up his notes. He put back his pen on the pocket of his coat and fixed up the chart before holding out his hand to Shizuru once more. "It was nice meeting you Viola-san."

"You can call me Shizuru," she took his hand and shook it.

"Only if you call me Reito," he shook back.

A/N: And there's Part 1 of my two-shot series. I actually started this about a year ago? I kinda forgo and was only able to reach half way right now. The next chapter is in writing though it's gonna be a while before it gets uploaded since I may be changing perspectives then. But I already have the ending in mind so basically it's just how am I gonna write it out.

Also, I have another possibly two shot (or one shot) that's kinda lengthy which I started prior to this and that is going to take a while before I could publish it. As of this moment I think I have already 11-12 pages worth of content. And I'm having a bit of a difficulty putting Shiznat into that one as the movie I based it off is kinda hard to alter. Well not really but I don't know as of the moment where I would be able to insert Shiznat.

Anywho. I'm not abandoning my works! I'm also on the process of writing the chapters it's just that I may do a complete makeover as what I wrote kinda left me in a pit that I can't crawl out of. I'm ranting now so, I'm gonna say goodbye.

Hope you enjoyed this fic!


	2. Chapter 2

White. All she saw was white. From the moment she opened her eyes, her vision still dull from sleep the only color she could register was white. She looked around trying to look for any color of some sort while her vision was still adjusting. She found a ring of blue to her left that she surmised was attached to the wall and waited for her vision to clear out.

8:15. That was the time. The blue object was a clock hanging on the wall. Her vision was now clearer and she could make out her environment. Moving her head from left to right she concluded that she was in the hospital. She tried to move her body but she was sore all over, not to mention she had limited movement of her body being only able to move her head and limbs from side to side.

She heard herself sigh for the first time. She felt completely helpless lying on the bed. He was alone and only the faint sound of the monitor kept her company. She looked over the clock once more and was surprised that it had just been ten minutes since she initially looked at the clock and scowled. Looking down from her perspective she saw a glimpse of her feet and thought she might as well try moving her body some more.

A few minutes later she managed to lift her hands up and was able to take the nasal cannula off her face. It was starting to irritate her. Now, the thin tube that provided her oxygen lay beside her. She managed to assess herself and was able to note that there were several bandages all over her body. Her head was wrapped around with one and her torso was also covered all over. Renewing some strength to her arms, she tried to sit herself up but a sudden jolt of pain from her right chest prevented her to do so. Her body was quick to react to the pain and she forewent sitting up for the moment. Carefully she tried moving the rest of her body and was happy to note that only her chest ached on movement.

She glanced at the clock again and saw that half an hour has passed since then. She felt fatigued from moving her body and wasn't surprised when she felt the familiar pull of sleep creeping up to her. Not being able to do anything else, she succumbed to her body's wishes and closed her eyes for the much needed rest.

...

The next time she woke up she wasn't alone anymore. A nurse was checking her IV lines when she came to. Apparently the nurse wasn't paying attention to her that much, being busy holding up her small wristwatch to the top of the line counting the drops, to notice that she woke up. Only when she tried to move and let out a throaty groan did she notice.

"Oh! You're finally awake again," came the nurse's small yet high pitched voice. She pocketed the small notebook before leaning closer to her, inspecting her. She then smiled before saying, "wait here, I'll go get the doctor."

Before she could even think of a reply the dark haired nurse was already out of the room. Turning her head towards the door she felt the familiar tube that ran along her face. Feeling a bit irritated the second time, she gently yanked the object away and laid it beside her. Just then the door opened and the nurse came back holding a pitcher of water, with a brown haired man in tow whom she easily concluded was the doctor the woman was talking about.

"Hi, I'm Doctor Smith, a resident doctor of Fuuka Hospital," he introduced himself as soon as he stood by her bed. Behind him the nurse placed the pitcher on the bedside table and crouched down to get a measuring cup from the small cabinet. After pouring the contents of the pitcher to the cup, she handed it to the doctor and went to the foot of the bed. "You probably have a lot of questions; I'll do my best to answer them as soon as you drink some water first. I'm sure being asleep for two months has dried up your throat."

The head of the bed started to slowly lift up surprising her a bit but immediately relaxed to see that the nurse earlier was the one turning something to make the head of the bed lift up. When she was finally upright to drink the water, the nurse stopped and went back to their side. The doctor then assisted her in drinking the water. At first she had a hard time swallowing the drink causing some to drip from the sides of her mouth. After a few gulps, she was able to drink fluidly and had later on downed down three cups full.

"I – where am I?" Her voice was still raspy despite drinking a lot of water but it didn't hurt that much to talk.

"You're at Fuuka Hospital, a provincial hospital located on the boarder of Artai," Dr. Smith answered.

"How, what happened?" She looked straight to his eyes searching for an answer.

"Well, we were hoping you could answer that, Ms. Kuga," he started. "Two months ago someone found you near the explosion site over at Asgard, you were severely injured. Luckily someone got you and immediately went here to get you help. If it weren't for him you might have died then."

She went silent for a moment trying to remember something about what the doctor said but her mind was all blank. But then she remembered what he referred her as.

"Who's Kuga?"

"Oh, it's you Ms. Natsuki Kuga, or that's what your ID's said you were, it even had your picture so we assumed it was you," he answered but followed-up with a question. "Are you not Natsuki Kuga?"

"I –," she was speechless for the moment trying to get an answer for his question but no name came up to her mind who she was. "I don't know…"

...

She had amnesia. All her memories were wiped out and she could not remember anything aside from waking up in the hospital. After waking up she still stayed at the hospital for a month to check if she is in good health and went to rehab so she could regain her strength. Also, the explosion didn't leave her unscathed and she found out that she would be sporting permanent scars all over her body. The most visible one just below her left jaw.

Fuuka was really a small town cause a few days after she woke up, the man who helped her, Yamada, visited her as soon as he heard the news. She thanked him more than a few times and he laughed at her saying that he was just passing by and he couldn't just leave her there.

Now, six months after waking up, she was working as a mechanic at Yamada's shop. She had no place to go to as her address on her ID was already in ruins after the explosion and no one knew of her. She had no relatives or friends that can take her in. Yamada offered her a job and a place to stay. He figured her lean, strong physique could do well for his business and he wasn't wrong. Natsuki easily learned the ins and outs of cars and motorcycles and had a knack of fixing them. Plus she was attractive and it drew in a lot more customers, it annoyed her but sucked it up as the business became better.

"Natsuki-chan, lunch is ready!" The voice of Yamada came from inside the shop. "You don't want to keep the food waiting!"

"Alright!" Natsuki slid off from under the car she was working on and sat up to remove the gloves she wore and placed them on the tool box beside her. She went inside the shop through the door that connected to the garage. There the whole crew sat on a rectangular table at the back of the shop.

"You work too hard Natsuki," Tate, the blonde haired guy who was one of the mechanics, commented.

"Yeah, Natsuki-chan! Come on let's eat, you can sit by me," Takeda, the tan skinned green haired guy patted the chair beside him. She inwardly cringed. The guy was creepy as hell and she didn't even understand how his hair could be that shade. It made her wonder if it was really his hair color or that he had to dye it every now and then. To add up, his obvious crush on her wasn't giving him much favor on her side. She had already made it a point that she wasn't interested in him many times but she doesn't think that it sticks to his head at all.

She sits beside Yamada much to Takeda's dismay but he was quick to recover and was his happy bumbling self once more. They said their graces and happily ate the meal Yamada prepared for them. He was like a father to the three. Tate and Takeda were also orphans of the war and were taken in by Yamada since he had no family himself. The old man used to travel all around and used to be an intel for various people and eventually settled down in the small town of Fuuka where he started his automotive repair shop. Now, five years later, he was happy to have made the decision as he couldn't have been any happier.

...

It was particularly a very hot day that day. It was over 40 degrees Celsius. It was rare to see anyone outside due to the intolerable heat. Natsuki and the others were hanging out in the empty garage trying various ways to cool themselves. The AC in the shop busted down earlier that morning due to the intense heat and they were too lazy to fix it. After a year being together, the three were more like siblings than anything else. Natsuki laid down on the couch at the back only in her sweat pants and a tank top nursing an ice pack on her head. Takeda on the other hand was sitting in front of the fan trying to save himself from the sweltering heat. Tate was over the faucets washing his face with water over and over again.

"Oi, Tate, you're just wasting water if you keep doing that," Natsuki called from her spot. "If you're gonna wash your head and face all over, why don't you take a bath instead?"

"I can't go out in this heat!" He replied. "I'll melt the moment I take a step outside."

"Yeah right," Takeda snickered. "You just don't want to get tanned."

"Hey!"

Tate was about to retort something but was interrupted when a sound of a vehicle approaching their garage stopped him. He and Takeda looked to see who it was, surprised that someone was even out there. The small purple sedan stopped just in front of them and in a second smoke started coming out of the hood. The driver immediately came out of the vehicle coughing from the thick smoke that now surrounded the car and went inside the garage for shelter. Takeda and Tate's eyes went wide as they saw who the driver was.

"Ugh, what was that?" Natsuki stood up coughing from the smoke that now entered the garage. She went up to where Tate and Takeda were to take a look at what happened. Reaching the two she found that this mystery smoke came from a purple sedan which probably overheated due to the weather outside. She didn't fail to notice the newcomer who was also coughing from the smoke. Natsuki took this opportunity to look up who this person was and was surprised to see it was a woman. She was wearing skinny white pants and a green sleeveless top. When the smoke started to clear out a bit, she noticed the long, wavy, tawny colored hair of the woman whose back was facing her. The woman was quite a looker even if it was just her back and Natsuki could only imagine that she'd be even prettier facing them. And she wasn't wrong when she thought of that.

After another few seconds and the smoke finally thinned down the woman finally faced them with her blood red eyes that widened in surprise. The woman stopped in her tracks and stared at Natsuki as if she'd seen a ghost. Captivated by her eyes Natsuki didn't move from her spot and stared back. She was beautiful. Natsuki felt a strong tug in her heart that she didn't know where came from.

After what seemed to be an eternity the unknown woman was quick to move and the next thing Natsuki knew was a strong force pushed unto her and a pair of lips were now harshly placed on her own.

The female mechanic couldn't move. She was shocked. She was being kissed by a woman whom she didn't know, whom is really awfully beautiful, but still a stranger that she just saw literally a few minutes ago and her body just shut down on her. Only when she felt tears on her face did she snap out of her trance and harshly pushed the woman away from her.

"Wha- Who the fuck are you and why did you kiss me?!" It ended up being harsher than she intended but then again she felt violated.

"N-Natsuki?" The woman squeaked out her name and caused the namesake to furrow her brows together.

"Why do you know my name?"

"I – It's Shizuru," the woman introduced, a bit shaken. "Don't you remember me?"

"No." Natsuki shook her head her thoughts swimming.

"She has amnesia," Tate butted in. Apparently the two boys were also shocked at the events and just watched the two as in watching a live television drama. But after seeing Natsuki display this much emotion Tate knew he had to step up. "I know this is something serious between the both of you and I think it's something we need to sit over. Let's go inside."

Tate led them to the table at the back of the shop with him sitting on the edge while the two sat in front of each other. He instructed Takeda to watch over the front for the mean time to make sure no one was stealing from their shop.

"So, Ms. Shizuru, do you know Natsuki here?" Tate asked trying to be the intermediary. He looked at Natsuki who was looking down, staring at the table refusing to look at anything else. This is something that's hard for her, he thought. Maybe he could ask the questions on her behalf and hope that something spikes up her interest.

"Yes."

Tate looked at the tawny haired woman and observed her. She didn't even look at him when she answered. She was focused intently at the woman in front of her.

"So, how do you know Natsuki?"

"She was my childhood friend. We grew up together. The last I saw her was more than two years ago, when she –" Shizuru couldn't continue her answer without a sob escaping from her throat. She calmed herself a bit before continuing. "She left. A – a year later, she, she was pronounced dead."

Natsuki's ears caught something of it and raised her head to meet Shizuru in the eyes. "What- I'm supposed to be dead?"

"After the explosion, they couldn't find your body. They couldn't recognize anyone else. They thought you were dead," Shizuru's voice was strained. Tate knew that the things they were going to talk about from now on were private so he quietly stood up and left the two who didn't even pay him any attention. "You were a soldier of Windbloom Natsuki. They asked you to infiltrate the rebels in Artai to finally stop the war and you succeeded supposedly with your own life. But I didn't believe it. I felt that you're still alive. So I went out to search for you."

"And here you are…" her voice was barely a whisper. Tears started to flow from her eyes. She reached out her hand to touch the bluenette but the said woman leaned away from her touch.

"How am I supposed to believe all of this?" Natsuki's angry blue eyes met teary red ones. "How am I supposed to believe that you're telling the truth?"

Shizuru kept silent not knowing how to answer Natsuki's indirect allegations. She searched her memory of them that can make her convince the ex-soldier that she was telling the truth and something came to mind. Wordlessly she stood up and went outside with emerald eyes following her every move. When she came back she set down a small piece of paper and pushed it across towards Natsuki.

Natsuki picked up the paper and was surprised at what she saw. It was a picture. Of her and Shizuru. Possibly taken a few years ago noticing that the woman in front of her looked very differently, more mature, than the one in the photo. She was wearing camouflage and had the dark bold letters KRUGER, N. plastered to her chest. Her hand was wrapped around Shizuru's waist beside her was wearing a light purple sundress and they were smiling ear to ear. She tried to recall the memory but wasn't able to. Then her head started to hurt badly and unconsciously held it with both hands.

"Natsuki!" Immediately Shizuru was by her side trying to do something to help her but she didn't know how.

The last thought she had before she blacked out was the name of the woman beside her. '_Shizuru?'_

...

When she woke up she noticed that she was in the hospital once again. To her left, the woman, Shizuru, was talking with Dr. Smith and she happened to overhear their conversation

"Her mind's keeping her from remembering her past," Dr. Smith told Shizuru.

"How is that possible? Is there any way we can let her remember?"

"Only time could tell Ms. Viola," Dr. Smith frowned. "It's a possibility that she may never remember anything at all. Quite possibly if the trauma was too great for her to handle."

"So you mean she may never recover her memories before the incident?"

"I believe so." The doctor gave his honest opinion based from years of practice and knew too well to be straight forward. Glancing at the bed he saw that his patient was already awake and decided to leave the two alone. "I'll leave you two be for the moment. I'll come back later."

Shizuru turned around to face her even before Dr. Smith was able to leave the room. Immediately she was by her side sitting on the stool beside the bed. Given the fainting episode earlier she figured she should trudge over shallow waters first. "How are you?"

"I'm fine." Natsuki still felt a little bit uneasy around Shizuru. She supposed she should give her the chance to help her as for months she didn't even knew who she was. And they found no leads or clues other than her ID, which she now realized was most probably fake anyway. If she were to find out who she really is she could start by accepting what this woman beside her could offer. It was better than nothing.

"Uhm," the bluenette cleared her throat. "Can, can I ask you a question?"

Shizuru's eyes became mirthful as they caught each other's gaze. Natsuki could see the emotions clearly like an open book and saw the hope that the red-eyed woman felt. "Sure, Natsuki can ask me anything."

"What's my real name?" She wanted to ask who she was but settled for her name first. She wasn't sure if she wanted to hear everything about her right away.

"You're Natsuki Kruger."

"Kruger?" Natsuki tested out the name. It was somehow more familiar than Kuga when the name rolled of her tongue. "What about you? What's your family name Shizuru?"

"Viola, my complete name is Shizuru Fujino Viola." It felt weird introducing yourself to a person you knew most of your life but she had to endure it.

"Shizuru Viola." The bluenette couldn't help but feel relieved at the name. She didn't know why but hearing the name made her feel a tad bit happy.

"Who are you Shizuru? I – How do you know me?"

She wanted to say many things at once but she figured she should start from the beginning . So she told her everything from the moment she met her save for her feelings for the other woman. She already had the burden of not remembering her memories, she wouldn't want to burden her further with hers. She shared her fond memories hoping to lighten up the mood and was glad to have Natsuki listen in and ask a question or two along. She was thankful that the bluenette had already forgotten about the incident earlier as she wouldn't know how to answer her. But then again as you may see fate going along well with you sometimes it turns against you.

"Who are you to me?" The question caught Shizuru off guard. Even she didn't know herself. When Natsuki left she said thank you and that she felt the same but still pushed her away. So she became honest.

"I don't know." Natsuki saw the sudden change in Shizuru's eyes. They became sullen. "You were supposed to tell me after a few months probably after you come back but you never did. So I went to look for you instead. After a while I thought that maybe I was wrong, that you were dead. But then earlier today seeing you, I couldn't contain myself."

Natsuki sat up on the bed so she could level with Shizuru. She used her fingers to wipe out the tears that fell. She felt the same tug in her chest she felt earlier now only stronger. "I'm sorry."

"I know I don't really remember you right now. But this," she pointed at her chest. "Hurts when you're hurt and ached when I first saw you. And if that's not me telling me that you mean more to me than what I think then I don't know what is."

Natsuki didn't really know why she said that, something about not wanting the woman beside her so sad. She felt it. Urged her to say it as it would surely make Shizuru happy. And she couldn't help but smile as she held the tawny haired woman in her arms who was crying into her chest with tears of happiness.

...

"You take care of yourself now," Yamada said hugging Natsuki, patting her on the back at the same time. There were unshed tears in his eyes. He grew really close with Natsuki and treated her as family all the while during her stay. But a month after meeting Shizuru, she decided to go back to Windbloom and search for herself.

"Don't worry I'll be back to visit you guys every now and then." She gave gave them a genuine smile.

"Hey Shizuru-chan," Takeda called out to the tawny haired woman. "Take care of Natsuki-chan for us, will you."

"Ara, of course Takeda-han." Shizuru slipped in her arm around Natsuki's. "I'll make sure Natsuki's needs are met."

"O-oi!" Blood rushed to the bluenette's face at the sexual innuendo. If anything she discovered about Shizuru the past month, the woman had a bad habit of teasing. Not that she didn't mind, she just thought it wouldn't be so bad of a habit if she teased someone else other than her from time to time.

Over the month they spent together drew them closer quite easily. This could be attributed to the fact that despite Natsuki losing her memories, they knew each other long before. Natsuki changed quite drastically. She seemed more positive with Shizuru around. So when she decided to go with Shizuru to Windbloom they were happy for her.

"We need to go," Natsuki said after a long silence, the colour of her face returning to normal. "I'll see you around?"

"We'll see you soon."

They hugged each other and bid goodbye one last time before Natsuki and Shizuru boarded the purple sedan. She waved to them as Shizuru drove off away from the town to their next destination. The capital of Artai.

...

A/N: So… that's the second part of this fic. BUT! I decided to make it a three shot since the story got quite longer than I expected it to be. And this one was done in the perspective of Natsuki. So the last one. I don't know yet. But it will have the conclusion to this story. Hope you liked it! Share me your thoughts.


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